Why all the big fish are gone?

This picture has been taken in the fish market of Ende, in the south of Flores, but you can see almost the same situation in every fish market around the world. Have a look on this touching video.

Here around Manado, every night it is possible to observe thousand (!!) of boats all along the bay fishing, coming back in the morning. Many businessmen especially from china or the rest of Indonesia came to invest in the fish market, due to the very high request of this resource which is dramatically decreasing everywhere in the world. If things don’t change right now in few years we won’t have any fish bigger than 30 cm left in the sea.

Many tourists diving in the Bunaken park complain about the absence of big fish.. But it is perfectly normal due to the excessive fishing activity around!! There are not groupers bigger than 30-40 cm left. Jackfish, sometimes you are lucky to see one or two. Sharks, only very deep and very shy. Napoleon wrasse, just a couple around. No way to spot manta rays, eagle rays, tunas or other pelagics.

Last time I saw a manta rays, exactly in fron of Siladen Island, at the end of the dive it was already dead on the beach, sticked by a fishermen’s harpoon.

The only solution is to create a NO FISHING AREA all around the park. All fishermen should receive incentive to change their job moving into something more sustainable. I think in not so many years the fish population can recover an we could have not just macro-lovers around here.